The odd couple

The PTI and the MQM have a long, largely unpleasant, history. The two parties have tried to pursue legal cases against each other, both at home and abroad, and denounced one another as fascists and unprincipled. Now they are going to be allies in the next government. As the PTI pursues political parties and independent candidates to form a majority in the National Assembly, it has formed alliances of convenience with unlikely bedfellows. The nine-point agreement it has reached with the MQM-Pakistan lays out the contours of this alliance. In return for supporting the PTI in the centre, the MQM-P will receive the PTI’s help in strengthening local government in Karachi. This was always going to be at the centre of any deal struck by the MQM-P. The party has been decimated by internal strife and operations in the city but it still remains in charge of city government. Under the PPP-led provincial government, however, most local functions have been taken away by the province – something the MQM-P is trying to challenge in court. With the help of the PTI, it probably hopes to claw back some of these powers and try to rebuild in Karachi.

For the PTI, there are some benefits to this alliance beyond reaching a majority in the National Assembly. The party won more seats in Karachi than the MQM-P but is shut out of power in Sindh since the PPP will be forming next government. A partnership with the MQM-P could give it a power centre in the city as it tries to strengthen its base before the next local elections. The main question is how long this pact will last. The MQM-P has a history of joining and leaving governments and there is no reason to believe this time will be any different. To keep the MQM-P on board, the PTI may need to give assurances that operations in the city targeting the party will be halted. The agreement between the two parties does call for the operation to be reviewed but that may not be good enough for the MQM-P if the outcome of that review isn’t to its liking. The party has struggled to carve out space to operate in the city and will be looking to the PTI to plant the seeds of its revival. For a party whose performance in the elections looked to be the last gasp of a dying entity, this alliance could be its way back into power – a concession the PTI has made as it plays the numbers game to reach the majority in the National Assembly.